Bill Text: NY A01854 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Removes statute of limitations for certain civil actions related to child sexual assault offenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-25 - print number 1854a [A01854 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01854-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1854

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure  law,  in  relation  to  removing
          statute  of  limitations  for  certain child sexual assault crimes; to
          amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation  to  removing  the
          statute of limitations in civil actions involving certain child sexual
          assault  offenses;  and  to  repeal  paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of
          section 30.10 of the criminal procedure law relating to the statute of
          limitations for sexual conduct against a child

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision 2 of section 30.10 of the
     2  criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 315 of the laws  of  2019,
     3  is amended to read as follows:
     4    (a) A prosecution for a class A felony, or rape in the third degree as
     5  defined  in  subdivision two of section 130.25 of the penal law, or rape
     6  in the second degree as defined in subdivision one of section 130.30  of
     7  the  penal law, or rape in the first degree as defined in section 130.35
     8  of the penal law, or criminal sexual act in the third degree as  defined
     9  in subdivision two of section 130.40 of the penal law, or criminal sexu-
    10  al  act  in  the  second degree as defined in subdivision one of section
    11  130.45 of the penal law, or a  crime  defined  or  formerly  defined  in
    12  section 130.50 of the penal law, or sexual abuse in the second degree as
    13  defined in subdivision two of section 130.60 of the penal law, or sexual
    14  abuse  in  the first degree as defined in subdivisions three and four of
    15  section 130.65 of the penal law,  or  aggravated  sexual  abuse  in  the
    16  fourth  degree as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section
    17  130.65-a of the penal law, or  aggravated  sexual  abuse  in  the  third
    18  degree  as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section 130.66
    19  of the penal law, or aggravated sexual abuse in  the  second  degree  as
    20  defined  in  paragraph  (c)  of subdivision one of section 130.67 of the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06673-01-3
        A. 1854                             2

     1  penal law, or aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree as defined  in
     2  section  130.70  of the penal law, or course of sexual conduct against a
     3  child in the first degree as defined in section 130.75 of the penal law,
     4  or  course  of  sexual  conduct  against a child in the second degree as
     5  defined in section 130.80 of the penal law, or predatory sexual  assault
     6  against a child as defined in section 130.96 of the penal law, or incest
     7  in  the  first  degree as defined in section 255.27 of the penal law, or
     8  use of a child in a sexual performance as defined in section  263.05  of
     9  the penal law, may be commenced at any time;
    10    §  2.  Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal
    11  procedure law, as amended by chapter 11 of the laws of 2019, is  amended
    12  to read as follows:
    13    (f)  [For  purposes  of  a  prosecution  involving a sexual offense as
    14  defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal  law,  other  than  a
    15  sexual  offense  delineated  in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this
    16  section, committed against a child less than eighteen years of  age,]  A
    17  prosecution  for  incest in the first, second or third degree as defined
    18  in sections 255.27, 255.26 and 255.25 of the penal law committed against
    19  a child less than eighteen years of age[, or use of a child in a  sexual
    20  performance  as  defined in section 263.05 of the penal law,] the period
    21  of limitation shall not begin to run until the child has reached the age
    22  of twenty-three or the offense is reported to a law  enforcement  agency
    23  or statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, whichever
    24  occurs earlier.
    25    §  3.  Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal
    26  procedure law is REPEALED.
    27    § 4. Subdivision (b) of section 208 of  the  civil  practice  law  and
    28  rules, as added by chapter 11 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
    29  follows:
    30    (b)  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of law which imposes a period of
    31  limitation to the contrary and the provisions of any other law  pertain-
    32  ing  to the filing of a notice of claim or a notice of intention to file
    33  a claim as a condition precedent to commencement of an action or special
    34  proceeding, with respect to all civil claims or causes of action brought
    35  by any person for physical, psychological or other injury  or  condition
    36  suffered  by such person as a result of conduct which would constitute a
    37  sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law
    38  committed against such person who was less than eighteen years  of  age,
    39  incest  as  defined in section 255.27, 255.26 or 255.25 of the penal law
    40  committed against such person who was less than eighteen years  of  age,
    41  or  the use of such person in a sexual performance as defined in section
    42  263.05 of the penal law, or a predecessor statute that  prohibited  such
    43  conduct at the time of the act, which conduct was committed against such
    44  person  who  was  less  than  eighteen  years of age, such action may be
    45  commenced, against any party whose  intentional  or  negligent  acts  or
    46  omissions  are  alleged  to  have  resulted  in  the  commission of said
    47  conduct, [on or before] by the plaintiff or  infant  plaintiff  [reaches
    48  the  age  of fifty-five years] at any time. In any such claim or action,
    49  in addition to any other defense and affirmative  defense  that  may  be
    50  available  in accordance with law, rule or the common law, to the extent
    51  that the acts alleged in such action are of the type described in subdi-
    52  vision one of section 130.30 of the penal  law  or  subdivision  one  of
    53  section  130.45  of  the  penal law, the affirmative defenses set forth,
    54  respectively, in the closing paragraph of such sections of the penal law
    55  shall apply.
        A. 1854                             3

     1    § 5. Section 213-c of the civil practice law and rules, as amended  by
     2  chapter 315 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  213-c.  Action  by  victim  of  conduct constituting certain sexual
     4  offenses. (a) Notwithstanding any other limitation  set  forth  in  this
     5  article,  except  as  provided in subdivision (b) of section two hundred
     6  eight of this article, all civil claims or causes of action  brought  by
     7  any  person  for  physical,  psychological  or other injury or condition
     8  suffered by such person as a result of conduct  which  would  constitute
     9  rape  in the first degree as defined in section 130.35 of the penal law,
    10  or rape in the second degree as defined in subdivision  two  of  section
    11  130.30  of  the  penal  law,  or  rape in the third degree as defined in
    12  subdivision one or three of section 130.25 of the penal law, or criminal
    13  sexual act in the first degree as defined in section 130.50 of the penal
    14  law, or criminal sexual act in the second degree as defined in  subdivi-
    15  sion  two  of section 130.45 of the penal law, or criminal sexual act in
    16  the third degree as defined in  subdivision  one  or  three  of  section
    17  130.40  of  the  penal  law, or incest in the first degree as defined in
    18  section 255.27 of the penal law, or  incest  in  the  second  degree  as
    19  defined in section 255.26 of the penal law (where the crime committed is
    20  rape  in  the  second  degree  as  defined in subdivision two of section
    21  130.30 of the penal law or criminal sexual act in the second  degree  as
    22  defined  in  subdivision  two  of  section 130.45), or aggravated sexual
    23  abuse in the first degree as defined in section 130.70 of the penal law,
    24  or course of sexual conduct against a  child  in  the  first  degree  as
    25  defined  in  section  130.75 of the penal law may be brought against any
    26  party whose intentional or negligent acts or omissions  are  alleged  to
    27  have  resulted  in  the  commission  of  the said conduct, within twenty
    28  years.
    29    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,
    30  or any other provision of law to the contrary, all civil claims or caus-
    31  es of action brought by any person for physical, psychological or  other
    32  injury  or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would consti-
    33  tute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred  thirty  of  the
    34  penal  law  committed  against  a child less than eighteen years of age,
    35  incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the  penal  law
    36  committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of
    37  a  child  in  a  sexual  performance as defined in section 263.05 of the
    38  penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at  the
    39  time  of  the act, which conduct was committed against a child less than
    40  eighteen years of age, such action may be commenced at any time.
    41    (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that a crim-
    42  inal charge be brought or a criminal conviction be obtained as a  condi-
    43  tion  of  bringing a civil cause of action or receiving a civil judgment
    44  pursuant to this section or be construed to  require  that  any  of  the
    45  rules  governing  a  criminal proceeding be applicable to any such civil
    46  action.
    47    § 6. Section 214-g of the civil practice law and rules, as amended  by
    48  chapter 130 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
    49    §  214-g.  Certain  child  sexual  abuse  cases.  Notwithstanding  any
    50  provision of law which imposes a period of limitation  to  the  contrary
    51  and the provisions of any other law pertaining to the filing of a notice
    52  of  claim or a notice of intention to file a claim as a condition prece-
    53  dent to commencement of an action or  special  proceeding,  every  civil
    54  claim  or cause of action brought against any party alleging intentional
    55  or negligent acts or omissions by a person for physical,  psychological,
    56  or other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would
        A. 1854                             4

     1  constitute  a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of
     2  the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age,
     3  incest as defined in section 255.27, 255.26 or 255.25 of the  penal  law
     4  committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of
     5  a  child  in  a  sexual  performance as defined in section 263.05 of the
     6  penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at  the
     7  time  of  the act, which conduct was committed against a child less than
     8  eighteen years of age, which is barred as of the effective date of  this
     9  section  because the applicable period of limitation has expired, and/or
    10  the plaintiff previously failed to file a notice of claim or a notice of
    11  intention to file a claim, is hereby revived, and action thereon may  be
    12  commenced  not  earlier  than  six months after[, and not later than two
    13  years and six months after] the effective date of this section.  In  any
    14  such  claim or action: (a) in addition to any other defense and affirma-
    15  tive defense that may be available in accordance with law, rule  or  the
    16  common  law,  to  the extent that the acts alleged in such action are of
    17  the type described in subdivision one of section 130.30 of the penal law
    18  or subdivision one of section 130.45 of the penal law,  the  affirmative
    19  defenses  set  forth,  respectively,  in  the  closing paragraph of such
    20  sections of the penal law shall apply; and (b) dismissal of  a  previous
    21  action,  ordered  before  the effective date of this section, on grounds
    22  that such previous action was time barred, and/or for failure of a party
    23  to file a notice of claim or a notice of  intention  to  file  a  claim,
    24  shall  not be grounds for dismissal of a revival action pursuant to this
    25  section.
    26    § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.